The Path Toward Heaven

Anyone who had heard this former statement would think that this young man had just invited Jing Jiu to play Go.

Until they had heard the latter statement, they did not realize his true intention.

This was obviously intentional humiliation!

Earlier in the plum garden, Luo Huainan said that he wanted to break Jing Jiu’s sword, and Zhao Layue had generated the intent to kill him. Normally, she should be very angry at the moment, arching her sword-like inky eyebrows, with a chilling sword light glinting in her eyes, driving her sword toward the young man behind the Go table after uttering the famous mantra of the Green Mountain Sect.

Unfortunately, she had cultivated for a shorter time in comparison, and her Cultivation state wasn’t as strong as her would-be opponent, so she would be putting herself in danger. Then Jing Jiu would have to show his bottom-line and attack the opponent himself. And Jing Jiu would slash the young man in half in front of a grand scholar, with blood flowing everywhere in the street, creating a horrendous scene. As it would be impossible for the young man’s sect to accept this outcome, the Plum Meeting would end abruptly, and the two most powerful orthodox Cultivation sects in Chaotian Land would start an all-out war. As a result, the swordsmen in the State of Broken Sea would turn the rivers upside down, and the swordsmen in the State of Heavenly Arrival would destroy heaven and earth, and the Western Ocean Sword Sect would rise to the prominent position in the Cultivation world. The swordsmen of the Old Ones, the Mysterious Dark Sect and other deviant sects would be in league with the demons of the Underworld to attack the Orthodox Federation, causing blood and death everywhere; meanwhile the monsters of the Snowy Kingdom would move southwards to invade suddenly. The Broadsword King would have a hard time resisting on his own, and would die bravely in battle, and the Northern Army would be slaughtered till the last soldier; Zhaoge City would be broken into, and the imperial court of the human race would be obliterated…

Fortunately, Jing Jiu had prevented this potential history from materializing in this time and space.

In fact, he had done similar deeds before, but few people in Chaotian Land knew about them.

Zhao Layue sensed Jing Jiu’s intention accurately through the force in his hand.

To the Cultivation practitioners, emotions were irrelevant and redundant.

It was preferred to kill the man with a swing of the sword or checkmate them.

If one couldn’t do any of these, there was no point in getting angry.

Jing Jiu released Zhao Layue’s hand and walked to the front of the chess stall while being stared at with many peculiar gazes.

Zhao Layue was a little surprised, thinking that if he really didn’t care, why would he go there?

Grand Scholar Guo took a look at Jing Jiu, wondering the relationship between him and the young man, asking, “Know how to play Go?”

Jing Jiu replied, “You could say so.”

Grand Scholar Guo stopped thinking about this matter, because he had to have absolute concentration.

He hadn’t played chess with the young man before, but he had read of many of the chess playing records of his.

He believed deep in his heart that his opponent was the most talented Go player in hundreds of years.

As a national level Go player and being considered the best in the imperial court, he still didn’t have enough confidence to defeat the opponent.

To play Go with such a character, he had to focus his mind and blockade all interference to have a chance of winning.

The young man didn’t talk to Jing Jiu again, rejuvenating with his eyes closed.

He didn’t believe that he would lose, but Grand Scholar Guo was certainly different from those stall owners.

It was quiet in the street, and one could sense the nervousness in the atmosphere.

Suddenly, the sounds of horse-drawn carriages and even the sounds of flying swords piercing the air could be heard outside the crowd.

In the next moment, hurried footsteps and conversations could be heard down the street.

“Where?”

“Are you sure that Grand Scholar Guo has said that? Is it really that person?”

“How can that person possibly come to this place?”

A dozen people at various ages and with different clothing styles had arrived at the arena.

Some of them had dignified appearances and eye-catching official robes; some wore long robes, displaying an elegant aura; a few were merchants; and some Cultivation practitioners came by riding their swords.

It was obvious that these people knew each other, and they were highly achieved Go players in Zhaoge City, and some of them were even true national level Go players.

The stall owners recognized some of them, and they could of course guess the identities of the rest. Shocked speechless, they stepped aside to make a path for them.

As these high level chess players saw Grand Scholar Guo and the young man sitting opposite each other, they realized the rumor was true. They became very excited, but they shut their mouths immediately, and dared not to make any sound, so not to disturb the two people playing Go. They had noticed a young man standing by the Go table with a conical hat on, and couldn’t help but feel perplexed, wondering who this person was?!

That young man kept his eyes closed. It seemed that he wasn’t influenced by anything.

After some time, Grand Scholar Guo opened his eyes slowly, saying, “Let’s begin.”

The appearance of his eyes was like a deep well, very peaceful.

The young man opened his eyes as he said, “Please.”

After uttering this word, he gave the black Go pieces to his opponent who would have to make the first move according to the rule.

Those highly achieved chess players who came all the way here to observe the game were shocked speechless, thinking that this person really was as arrogant and self-confident as he was rumored to be.

Grand Scholar Guo was still peaceful. He didn’t get angry for being taken lightly or delighted for having the first move advantage. So he picked up a Go piece and placed it gently on the Go board.

The young man took a Go piece and placed it on the other side of the Go board.

Many people had noticed the difference in the details.

Grand Scholar Guo used his index and middle fingers to hold the chess piece, putting it down gently. His movement was quite elegant, like willow branches caressing the water, making no sound at all.

On the other hand, the young man used three fingers to grab the Go piece, putting it down carelessly; his movement looked terrible.

As his Go piece touched the Go board, a snapping sound occurred. It was an ordinary move, devoid of any lethal consequences.

The spot where his Go piece had landed was rather ordinary, revealing nothing special.

…

…

A wonderful move was the one that could be recognized as a good move.

A good move was the one that could be expected to have an advantage in the later stages of the game.

If the first move couldn’t be recognized as a wonderful move, then it was still too early to predict the development later on because there were so many empty squares to be filled.

However, if the subsequent ten and more moves followed the same style, ordinary and uninteresting, and one couldn’t perceive any wonderful strategy, then it meant that the observers couldn’t predict the tangible consequences.

The reason could be that the Go player’s prowess was far better than the observers’, and it was more likely that everybody had different ways to play Go in the first place.

The highly achieved Go players quit figuring out the intention of each of the young man’s moves and waited for more Go pieces on the board to predict the result.

Jing Jiu didn’t do the same.

He deduced and calculated silently while watching the Go game.

The way he played Go was different from others to begin with.

He was used to calculating from the first move till the end of the game.

This method was very demanding and radical, but it suited Jing Jiu perfectly, who had never learned how to play Go in a serious way.

Of course, he knew this method had a trivial problem that he hadn’t yet had the opportunity to experience.

It wasn’t until that day, he finally experienced it.

The trivial problem was: playing Go this way was kind of tiring.

…

…

It was quiet all over the place.

Only the sound of Go pieces landing on the Go board could be heard.

More and more people came after hearing the news. The newcomers were all famous people in Zhaoge City, and there were even a few state dukes among them.

The chess match outside the old plum garden would certainly be recorded in the famous games of Go history.

The number one national Go master playing against a Go genius; who would win in the end?

The Go pieces were falling.

Time was flowing away.

The sunlight had changed its direction.

Jing Jiu stood by the Go board.

Some gazes had occasionally fixed themselves on him, but then moved away.

Wearing a conical hat, Jing Jiu was merely a background for this Go game, so he was naturally ignored.

Save for that young man, nobody knew that Jing Jiu was playing Go as well.

He was playing this Go game.

He couldn’t help but feel tired while standing all the time.

So, he pulled out a bamboo chair and sat on it.